Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark-Jason Solofa.
Hi Mark-Jason, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2008 during the market crash, I found myself sitting at my desk wondering what was in-store for me next. You see at the time, I was working as a Senior Underwriter for a Mortgage Lender, and that industry was on it’s way out and the company I worked for was about to shut down. With 17 years of corporate work experience in Banking and Insurance, I knew I didn’t want to stay in this line of work anymore. I was 38 at the time, going through a divorce, and was now a single Dad of a 5 year old daughter with no family in California to help me with her. I had to find a career that would give me the flexibility of being available to my daughter in these formidable years of her life, without worrying about leaving her with anyone given that she was my responsibility on the days she was with me. Brainstorming on what career options would give me that kind of flexibility, I remembered a time in my early 20’s when I visited a Barbershop back in my birth country of New Zealand. The shop was small, had only 2 Samoan Barbers working the 2 chairs, listening to 90’s R&B and laughing and joking with their clients. I remember how happy the looked, and how invested they appeared to be in the best interest of their clients, whilst sharing stories and experiences together over a haircut. I remember in that moment back then, wanting to be able to do the same thing, but I had no experience cutting hair nor did I know that one could go to school for it.
So I went online while at my desk and typed in “How to become a Barber?” and was surprised at the resources available for someone wanting to change their careers, so I took the leap of faith and went all in on the journey to become a Barber.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing great comes without challenges or obstacles, and my journey to become a Barber or to experience the success I’ve had over my career has been no different. One of the biggest obstacles I faced was being 38 and entering a brand new career field in which I had no experience, alongside people who were much younger than me. Most of my peers were just out of high school, or in their early 20’s still navigating young adult life. The learning curve was steep for someone who’d spent 17 years behind a desk.
But what I found out early enough in my career was that Barbering was a service driven industry, and that people would be drawn to the person you are first, especially if they knew they were being treated with respect and appreciation. So I lead with good service from day one, building relationships with clients and earning their trust to be their Barber. This is where being almost forty at the time had an advantage, because I had lived many more lives than my counterparts to be able to talk to people of all walks of life, open up to them and share and listen to them. This approach would prove to the be the catalyst for my career.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have now been in the Barbering industry for 17 years, and I have specialized solely on traditional barbering which is classic haircuts, straight razor shaves and facial hair grooming. I started my first shop in 2012 as a solo operator, one chair shop, with no clients in a town that I lived almost an hour and half away from. Within a year and half I had become booked out 3 months at a time, and I quickly realized I needed to hire another Barber to help with the overflow. Now, 13 years later, I have 2 shops with a total of 12 chairs, and 12 Barbers working for me.
We’ve been recognized over the years as one of the top rated Barbershops both in our city, in the Nation, and in some online articles, in the world. I’ve personally been recognized as an authority in the industry after being featured in The MIlady’s Standard Barbering Textbook, the one standardized text used by all Barbering students nationwide. In my 17 years of experience I’ve had the pleasure of working with NHL All-Star players, a Hollywood leading man, and been featured on an national ESPN commercial.
However despite the individual success I’ve been blessed to experience, certainly my proudest moment remains the fact that my small business has grown organically, bootstrapped financially by what I’ve made over time, and how it now provides financially for more than just myself and my two children, but also for other 12 other Barbers and their respective families. That is a responsibility that I do not take lightly nor do I take it for granted.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters to me most is that Barbershops in today’s generation will continue to serve as hubs of community and fellowship, because there are fewer and fewer places now for men of all colors, creeds, and religions to congregate and heal together as men without judgement or persecution of their individual beliefs.
You see Barbershops allow men to sit in a room together for the common purpose of getting their haircut, which for however long that time maybe, they share a common purpose. And so there is only one focus during those moments, to wait your turn and to engage with those either also waiting their turn, or with those sitting in the Barber chairs already.
These moments make way for sharing, laughter, healthy debates about sports, current events, or random trivia. They allow complete strangers to interact without knowing each others names or without a formal introduction to each other. They truly become a united community, even if only briefly, and even if all of these men never share that same space in the Barbershop again (because it’s unlikely they may show up at the same day and time when they need their next haircut).
This is what matters to me most, that Barbershops never lose this intimate and safe space for men to be like-minded for a few hours in their busy lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mjsolofa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjsolofamensgrooming
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjsolofamensgrooming
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjasonsolofa/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mjsolofagrooming
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mark-jason-solofa-mens-grooming-berkeley?osq=barber
